Arch support for shoes



May 29, 1928. 1,671,713

H. J. GLASS ARCH SUPPORT FOR SHOES Filed April 6, 1927 Patented May 29, 1928.

UNITED STATES HENRY J. Grass, or BUFFALo, New YORK.

ARCH sorroa'r FOB sHoEs.

Application filed April c;

elevation and which at the same time is flexible so as to conform itself to a certain extent to the ressure of the arch on the support; also to orm an arch support consisting of two relatively thin flexible members which are so arranged relatively to each other as to form a truss-like structure for supporting the weightof the arch of the foot; also to provide an arch support in which the support is built up of two members which are removable from each other, but which are so locked together that accidental removal of one member from the other or displacement of the members relatively to each other is impossible; also to provide an arch support which can be secured to the inner sole of the shoe and held in place thereby, thus making it possible to construct all other portions of the shoe in the usual manner without varying from the present shop practice except for the preparation of the inner sole before assembling the same into the shoe; also to provide an arch support of this kind which is so constructed that the same interlocks with a rivet or fastening device to en-' tirely prevent accidental disconnection of the arch support with the rivet or other connection; also to provide an arch support of this kind in which a cushion or pad covering the arch support is socured and held in place by a removable member of the arch support; also to provide an arch support of this kind which is particularly well adapted to cooperate witha cushion or pad for cushioning the foot; also. to provide an arch support of this kind in which the height of the arch can readily be varied by the use of removable members of different lengths, without removing the other member of the arch support from the shoe; also to provide an archsupport which is resilient so that it tends to give the wearer a spring support at the arch of his foot which adds greatly to the comfort ofthe wearer when walking; also to provide an arch support which is so constructed as to automatically adjust itself to any height of heel also to improve the construction of arch supports 1927. Serial No. 181,539.

of this kind in other respects hereinafter specified.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an arch sup port embodying my invention, showing the same removed from a shoe.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the lower or bottom member of the arch support.

Fig. 4 is a central sectional "iew thereof.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the upper member of the arch support.

Figs. 6 and 7 are side elevations on a reduced scale showing the manner in which the arch support becomes flexedor bent when pressures are applied at different portions thereof.

Fig.8 is a central sectional view showing an inner sole of a shoe having my improved arch su port applied thereto, and a cushion or pad ing placed over the arch support.

V Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view thereof on line 9-9 Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary top plan view of the inner sole, arch support and pad, and showing the cushion or padding turned back to expose the inner sole andarch support.

Figs. 11 and 12 are fragmentary, top plan 'views illustrating the construction for securing the arch support to the inner sole of the shoe. 1 i

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary, sectional elevation thereof on line 13-13, Fig. 11.

My improved arch support includes two members which are secured together so that .the intermediate portion of one member, which is made of flexible material, is bowed away from or arched above the other member and places the other member under tension. Preferably both members are made of resilient sheet material of considerable rigidity, such, for example, as spring metal,

the lower member A being adapted to be secured to a part of a shoe and flexing or bending therewith during the movement of the foot in the shoe, and the upper member B is secured to the member A. In the particular construct-ion shown, the ends of the upper member are secured to or anchored on the lower member, and this connection between-the two members is preferably a detachable one. The lower member is preferably formed or shaped so as to approximate 1y fit the contour of the arch ortion of a shoe of normal construction, while the upper member B is so formed as to constitute the arch support. In the construction shown the lower member A is provided with a heel portion 15 provided with apertures 16 for securing the heel portion by means of nails or other securing devices to the heel of the shoe. It will be understood, however, that the heel portion of the lowermember A may be entirely omit-ted, if desired, since the operation of my improved arch support is not dependent upon the heel portion thereof. The heel portion preferably has its upper surface dished orconcaved as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and at so as to adapt itself to the natural curvature of the. heel of a foot.

The upper and lower members may be secured together in their correct relations to each other in any suitable or desired man ner but preferably a quickly and easily detachable connection is employed. In the construction shown for this purpose the lower member A is provided, adjacent to the heel of the shoe, with a slot 18 extend ing crosswise of the foot and another cross wise slot 19 is provided near the other end of the lower member A of the arch support, this slot 19 also having an intersecting longitudinal slot 20 extending rearwardly therefrom, the object of which will be hereinafter explained. The upper or arched member B of the arch support is provided at its front and rear ends with tabs or projections 21 and 22 which are adapted to extend through the slots 18 and 19 respectively, and these tabs or extensions terminate in shoulders 23 and 24. Since the upper member B is made of flexible resilient material, such, for example, as spring brass, this member can be readily bent. Consequently either one of the tabs 21 or 22 is inserted through its slot, and the upper member B is then bent so as to make it possible to insert the other tab or projection through its slot. In order to facilitate the insertion of the tabs of the upper member into the slots 18 and 19, the edges 25 and 26 of these slots are preferably bent or pressed upwardly relatively to the upper face of the lower member A. hen the parts are so assembled as shown in Figs. 1, 2, (S, 7 and S, the tendency of the upper member B to straighten itself out will be resisted by the engagement of the shoulders 23 and 24 at the edges of the slots 18 and 19. The

length of the upper member B between the shoulders 23 and 24 thereof is slightly greater than the distance between the slots 18 and 19, so that the upper member must assume an arched or curved shape of a smaller radius of curvature than the curvature of the corresponding part of the lower member A and it will be obvious that the height to which the member B extends above the lower member A depends upon the length of the member B between the shoulders 23 and 24 thereof.

Since the upper and 'lower members of the arch support are made of resilient material, such, for example, as spring metal, it will be obvious that the arch support will yield to pressures applied thereto and thus adapt itself to a certain extent to the shape of the foot of the wearer. For example if the pressure is supplied to the arch support mainly in the direction indicated by the arrow X in vFig. 6, the upper member of the arch support will be flexed from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that, shown in Fig. 6, the upper member B being bowed forwardly to form a support for portions of the arch which do not press upon the upper member B with the same pressure as that applied at the point X. This resultsin the application of a more or less uniform pressure to all portions of the arch which is very desirable and which makes this arch support adaptable for arches of different shapes. In Fig. 7 an arrow X is shown to indicate that the greatest pressure of the arch of the foot is applied at the forward end of the bowed member B. In this case the upper member B is bowed upwardly to a greater extent at the rear portion thereof and thus affords an increased support to portions of the arch exerting less pressure upon the upper member B. Because of this action, my improved arch support readily adapts itself to arches of different shapes and contributes very greatly to the comfort of the wearer since with rigid arch supports trouble is experienced when a portion of the arch presses upon thev arch support to a greater extent than other portions of the arch of the foot. 1

The arch support may be fastened in a shoe in any suitable or desired manner, and also to any desired part of the shoe. It has however been found very desirable to fasten the arch support to the inner sole by the following means :C represents the inner sole of a shoe, or any other part of the shoe to which the arch support is to be, secured, and 28 represents a rivet or other attaching device having a head 29 which extends slightly above the upper surface of the inner sole of the shoe. This head 29 is comparatively flat and when the arch support is to be secured to the inner sole, the lower member A is first connected with the rivet head 29 by inserting this head through the slot 19 so that the stem or shank portion-of the rivet enters the longitudinal slot 20. This can be readily done as is clearly shown in Figs. 11

and 13. Then upon placing the upper member B into engagement with the lower member, by inserting the tab 21 through the slot 19, the disenga ement of the rivet from the lower member is prevented since the transverse slot 19 is sufficiently obstructed by the tab 21 of the uppermember so that the rivet head 29 cannot pass through the slot 19.

Similarly if it is desired to remove the arch support from the inner sole, this can be readily done by first removing the upper member B, so that the rivet head. may be passed through the slot 19 out of engagement with the lower member A. hen the device is to be permanently secured to a shoe, a nail may be driven through any of the holes 16 in the heel portioh of the arch support, or, it desired, a rivet 30, Fig. 8 may be passed through one of the holes 16 and through the inner sole C so that both ends of the arch support are securely held. in place on the inner sole. lly means of this arrangei'nent de scribed, the arch support need only be connected with the inner sole of the shoe and consequently during the manufacture of the shoe all of the usual steps in the process of manufacturing shoes can becarried out in the same manner as has heretofore been the practice, except in regard to the manufacture of the inner sole which, however, is one of the preliminary steps in the manufacture of shoes. Consequently a shoe of ordinary construction can be very readily converted into a shoe provided with an arch support by merely changing the inner sole, which is an important advantage from the manufacturing standpoint.

Preferably the arch support is covered by means of a pad orcushion, so'that the metal of the arch support will not bear directly against the foot. This pad may be in the form of a layer of felt or other padding material D suitably secured to the lower surface of a lining of soft leather or. other mm terial E. The constructionof my improved arch support lends itself particularly well to the attaching of the cushion, D thereto, since a strip of material F which isalso preferably of felt or other cushioning material can be passed through the space between the upper and lower members of the arch support and secured at its ends to the sides of the pad or cushionmembers D and E. Consequently when the pad is. to be positioned over the arch support, the upper-member l? of the arch support is inserted between the positioning strip F and the cushion portion D, and is then attached to the lower member A of the arch support. Consequently the cushion or pad will be held in place by the arch support. In addition the cushion or pad may, of course, be. cemented to the upper surface of the arch supp ort and to the inner sole C in the usual manner, if desired. The three parts of the cushion or pad are preferably stitched together at their edges by means of stitches 32. The padding or cushion adds to the comfort ofthe, arch support and by arranging the securing strip F below the upper arch member,'this strip does not bear against the foot but helps to fill the space between the sides of the arch support and the inner sides of the shoe to increase the comfortto thewearer. It will be understood, of course, that the padding or cushion may be omitted or may be replaced by a pad or lining of some other l i11(l. i a

In the use of my improved arch support, the two members thereof are locked together to form a truss-like structure, so that they cannot break down during ordinary wear and thus form a very light but strong arch support. The upper member has sufficient flexibility to conform to different feet and also prevents the lower part from becoming disengaged from the rivet or securing means. l urthermorc the arch support is flexible throughout its length and the height of the arch support can be varied by varying the lengths of the upper member. The rivet or part 28 by means of which the arch support is located definitely relatively to the inner sole can be easily positioned uniformly and correctly on the inner soles by the inner sole rounding pattern which has a locating pin positioned in it which punctures the inner sole where the rivet is to be placed. It is also possible to shape the upper member to a certain extent so as to suit the wearer. Since the arch support is flexible, it tends to give a spring to the step rather than to interfere with the free movement ofthe foot as in ordinary non-flexible arch supports. This feature of my improved arch support allows the arch of the foot 21. certain amount of exercise and' movement which tends to strengthen the same.

In considering Fig. 2 it will be obvious thatthe portion of the lower member A beneath the upper member B is curved so as to follow approximately the curvature of the arch portion of a. high heel, shoe. However, this same arch support may be used without any changes in a low heel shoe, in which the lower portion A will be flattened to a considerably greater extentthan when used in connection with high heel shoes. This is of decided advantage since the flattening out of the lower member A will. bring about a corresponding rise or increase in height of the upper lllGl'l'llJCl, which very desirable for the reason that a person requiring arch supports needs a higher arch supportwhen wearing a. flat or low heel shoe than when wearing a high heel shoe.

I claim as my invention 1. An arch support for a shoe including a lower member adapted to be secured to a part of the shoe and having a slot, a fastening device on a art of the shoe adapted to pass through said slot for securing said lower member to said part of the shoe, and an upper member secured to said lower member and bowed upwardly therefrom and having a part adapted to enter said slot to prevent said fastening device from moving through said slot to disengage said lower member from said fastening device.

2. The combination of an arch support for a shoe including a lower member having a slot, a fastening device on a part of the shoe including a head portion adapted to pass through said slot into holding engagement with said lower member, and an upper member connected at one end with said lower member and having at its other end a portion adapted to pass through said slot for supporting the intermediate portion of said upper member in a bowed position and extending upwardly above said lower member to support the arch of a foot, said part of said upper member preventing the passage of the head of said fastening device through said slot to release said lower member from said fastening device.

3. The combination of an inner sole for a shoe, fasteningdevice secured to said inner sole and having a head portion extending upwardly therefrom, an arch support including a flexible member having a slot and a recess connected therewith into which said attaching member may enter after said head has passed through said slot, and an upper arch supporting member adapted to be removably secured to said lower member and having a part extending through said slot for holding said upper member releasably on said lower member and for preventing said attaching device from becoming disconnected from said lower member.

4. An arch support including a. lower flexible sheet metal member adapted to be secured in a part of a shoe and having a concave heel portion and a portion extending along the arch of a shoe, and an upper flexible member secured to said lower member in a bowed .position so that the intermediate portion thereof extends above said lower member to form a flexible support for the arch of a foot.

5. An arch support including a pair of flexible sheet metal members secured together in such a way that the intermediate portion of one member is bowed relatively to the other member and thereby places said other member under tension, and a cushion sole resting upon said arch support and having a :portionengaging beneath said one member for anchorage of said sole theretoi 6. An arch support including a pair of flexible sheet metal members secured together in such a we that the intermediate portion of one mem er is bowed relatively to the other member and thereby places said other member under tension, a cushion sole placed over said arch support, and a part connected to said cushion sole and extending between the members of said arch support for bold ing said cushion in place thereon.

7. An arch support including a pair of flexible sheet metalmembers secured together in such a way that the intermediate portion of one member is bowed relatively to the other member and thereby places said other member under tension, acushionsole placed over said arch support, and a strip of flexible material secured to the edges of? said cushion sole and adapted to extend between said upper and lower members of the arch support for releasably holding said cushion sole in place.

8. An arch support for shoes having an inner sole, a flexible plate extending along the same over the arch section thereof, means for securing said plate detachably to said sole, and a flexible arch member attached to said plate adjacent one end of the said arch section extending along and bowed over the arch section and removably attached at its other end to said plate in a manner normally to prevent detachment of said plate from said inner sole while said member is attached to said plate at said other end.

9. An arch sup ort for shoes having an inner sole, a flexi 1e plate extending along the same over the arch section thereof, means for securing said plate detachably to said sole, a flexible arch member attached to said plate adjacent one end of the said arch section, extending along and bowed over the arch section, and removably attached at its other end to said plate in. a manner normally to prevent detachment of said plate from said inner sole while aid member is attached to said plate at said other end, and a cushion strip disposed over said member and having a section eng'a d beneath said member to secure said strip thereto.

HENRY J. GLASS. 

